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far. They led the hunter down the beach, where they met their ends together within a matter of moments. The last one to die giggled as the hunter threw it against something hard that was lying in the sand.
    “They’re all dead. It killed them all,” I groaned.
    Looking up to all three men, who were watching me as if I might explode before their eyes, I tried to clear my head. The hunter was walking back our way.
    “It’s coming back this way,” I whispered. “We have to kill it. Now. It’s big. It’s angry. All it wants to do is kill anything it can.”
    “Let’s go.” Gus cocked his shotgun and walked toward the door that would lead to the small parking lot. “Nate, open the door. I’ll go first.”
    Boggs was gently holding me by the arm, preventing me from going with them.
    “Whatever this thing is, it’s got some serious effects on you. Stay here, Zo. Let them handle it,” he said weakly.
    Bobby appeared at my side. She seemed especially nervous. She held a dry washcloth out for me.
    “Your nose,” was all she said.
    “Thanks,” I whispered back. I held the cloth to my nose. The stream of blood had, thankfully, slowed to a trickle.
    “Susan isn’t looking so good, guys. I’m not sure what to do for her,” sighed Bobby.
    “I’ll go check on her,” I offered while standing.
    “Hold off on more morphine until I can examine her, ok?” called Gus.
    Nathan opened the door, letting daylight stream in around us. The hunter was instantly aware of our presence as a result.
    “It’s coming back this way,” I said with dread in my voice.
    Gus and Nathan were already outside the safe room.
    “Oh God, Gus!” I yelled, nearly at scream-pitch. “It thinks you’re one of them! Oh shit!”
    I shoved Boggs off of me and ran to the open doorway.
    “Nate!” I screamed. “It’s coming for Gus! Oh God, help him!”
    I could see Gus through the eyes of the hunter. It believed he was one of the dead. It was ravenous and infuriated. Its goal was to kill other undead, plain and simple. My lover, through the eyes of the hunter, was surrounded by a red aura. Nathan and I were both surrounded in white outlines. My head swam as I tried to push the visions of the hunter from my head and see only through my own two eyes. The creature was massive; at least seven feet tall and nearly as wide with bloat. I had no doubt that once upon a time it was a human, but now it was a gelatinous blob full of pure rage and unending hunger. It reminded me of shows I had once seen on TV where people would have legs and genitals so swollen that they could barely move. This creature, though, was assuredly dead and rotting. Despite those facts, it was fast and nearing us too quickly. The stench emanating from it was seemingly a mixture of rotten eggs and putrefying animal remains.
    Nathan and Gus both aimed their firearms at the hunter, which seemed unaware of their intent. They both fired, and both found their mark on its head. The hunter fell forward with such force that its body literally exploded before us. Nothing about it appeared to be solid. It left behind a large pool of dark green slime and something resembling pus. Birds circled overhead, anxious for their chance to feed.
     

CHAPTER 5
     
     
    The door to the safe room slammed shut as Nate and Gus rejoined us.
    “Fuck!” shouted Nathan. “What was that shit?”
    “It was hunting the dead,” I said solemnly. I looked at Gus worriedly.
    “Zoe, are there any more out there?” Boggs asked prudently.
    I shook my head side to side. “Not that I can sense.”
    “We need to leave this place,” said Bobby from behind us. “It just feels evil here.”
    “Agreed,” said Gus. “But Susan’s in no shape to be moved. Fuck it. I need to think. The car battery’s dead.”
    “ There’s cars in town,” said Abbey. “We could take her away from here if we had a way to move her, right?”
    “Good thinking, Abs,” said Nathan. “We could pull a rig up right to the door.